Contact Information

Languages Spoken

English

Academic Background

BA, MA (Western), PhD (Penn State)

Biography

The major focus of my research involves examining the nexus of sport and commerce, more specifically the evolution of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) relationship with international television networks. In March 2002, Robert Barney (lead author, University of Western Ontario), Scott Martyn (University of Windsor) and I published a book entitled, Selling the Five Rings: The IOC and the Rise of Olympic Commercialism (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2002, rev. ed., 2004). I am lead author with these same colleagues on a second collaborative book published in December 2011 by Syracuse University Press entitled, Tarnished Rings: The International Olympic Committee and the Salt Lake City Bid Scandal. I completed a two-year term as President of the North American Society for Sport History (2007-2009), and currently serve on the editorial boards of the Journal of Sport History and the International Journal of the History of Sport. And, while I have a passion for research, there's no place I'd rather be than in the classroom. I appreciate the opportunity for interaction with the students in Laurier's Kinesiology and Physical Education program, and I enjoy facilitating opportunities for them to hone their research and writing skills, while providing lectures that help them to place sport and physical activity in historical context. Personal interests and/or hobbies include golf, recreational ice hockey, politics, reading almost anything dealing with the history of World War II, coaching youth sport teams, and most importantly, acting as the "Shadow GM" of the Toronto Maple Leafs. My wife Martha, son Timothy, daughter Lily, and I live in Baden.

Stephen R. Wenn, "IOC/USOC Relations and the 2009 IOC Session in Copenhagen," in Robert K. Barney, Janice Forsyth, and Michael Heine, eds., Rethinking Matters Olympic: Investigations into the Socio-Cultural Study of the Modern Olympic Movement: Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium for Olympic Research (London, Ontario: International Centre for Olympic Studies, 2010), pp. 60-75.

Robert K. Barney, Stephen R. Wenn, and Scott G. Martyn, Selling the Five Rings: The IOC and the Rise of Olympic Commercialism [Revised Edition] (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2004).

Presentations

Stephen R. Wenn, "Reforging the Rings: Jacques Rogge's Legacy and Juan Antonio Samaranch's Shadow," North American Society for Sport History Conference, San Francisco, CA, June 2012.

Stephen R. Wenn, "Rivals and Revolutionaries: Avery Brundage, David Cecil - The Marquess of Exeter, and Olympic Television Money," North American Society for Sport History Conference, University of Texas, May 2011.

Stephen R. Wenn, "IOC/USOC Relations and the 2009 IOC Session in Copenhagen," 10th International Symposium for Olympic Research, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, October 2010.